Pirates' PNC Park to Feature All-You-Can-Eat Section

[whoisonit]

This thread is making me hungry.

[alpineinc]

Did you say HUNGRY??...

http://www.baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=66135

[Pere]

These sections are generally in marginal-view areas of the ballparks and they have, in effect, a surcharge ($20 extra was one I saw) to cover the food. And for this, all you get is hot dogs, burgers, popcorn, soda?

I'd rather get the better seat, the better food, and not feel impelled to pig out and "get my money's worth."

[alpineinc]

These sections are generally in marginal-view areas of the ballparks and they have, in effect, a surcharge ($20 extra was one I saw) to cover the food. And for this, all you get is hot dogs, burgers, popcorn, soda?

I'd rather get the better seat, the better food, and not feel impelled to pig out and "get my money's worth."

Me too, but if your bringing three kids, etc., this is an ideal setup. Good marketing strategy - maybe bring the larger families back.

[grandslamsingle]

Me too, but if your bringing three kids, etc., this is an ideal setup. Good marketing strategy - maybe bring the larger families back.

Depends on what you mean by "larger"

[The Jaunt]

Depends on what you mean by "larger"

LOL!

Those are the types of families I seemingly always end up sitting aside.

No joke, I had one big dude take his seat next to me one time at a Phils game and he literally said "Oh, lucky you! You get to sit next to the big; fat guy."

Hahahaha. That guy was the best.

[Kentucky Bomber]

These sections are generally in marginal-view areas of the ballparks and they have, in effect, a surcharge ($20 extra was one I saw) to cover the food. And for this, all you get is hot dogs, burgers, popcorn, soda?

I'd rather get the better seat, the better food, and not feel impelled to pig out and "get my money's worth."

The one I saw, Texas, was the lower deck in left (201-209), not bad seats. For the Yankee series they charged $38 per seat for a-y-c-e, up from $29. Think about ballpark food prices: doesn't take too much to spend $9, even if it is standard ballpark stuff (dogs, peanuts, popcorn, nachos, soft drinks). So if that's you're idea of a good time, it's worth it.

[RoastedPeanut]

I found this thread to be really interesting.. On another note, my interest has now peaked for a Scrapper's game on some future summer Monday in regards to a $17 all you can eat ticket.. I never knew it existed.

[Pere]

How about this deal...

$20 in advance or $22 at the gate. All you can eat Hot Dogs, Hamburgers, Polish Sausages, Hot & Spicy Dogs, Bratwurst, Nachos, Baked Beans, Potato Salad, Cole Slaw, Peanuts, Popcorn, Soda and Draft Beer.

That's Monday nights with the Birmingham Barons.

[Chevy114]

The rays are doing this, but for groups of 20 or more. Thats a little unfair, but maybe it will help their ticket sales!

[ipitch]

A few highlights from this article.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2008-03-06-Concessions_N.htm

-13 MLB ballparks now have all-you-can-eat sections.

-"The Dodgers operate the biggest section; the Braves seem to have the fanciest menu. It includes beer, for $65 a seat. The Cardinals have the most sections: 10 all-you-can-eat buffets, plus beer, for $65-$200 a game. The Diamondbacks are creating the most expensive section at their park, Chase Field. Their 72 seats run $75 a game. But fans have to buy them as a season ticket, So the cost is $6,075 a seat."

-"Not everyone's a fan. Author Neal Pollack calls all-you-can-eat seats "the worst American culture can offer." He says he sat in the Dodgers' section last year and it "was a gluttonous orgy of stupidity. "The smell … was unbearable," Pollack recalls. "By the end of the game, it was like sitting in a sewer.""

-"Ron Ranieri, general manager of concessionaire Aramark at Atlanta's Turner Field, calculates that a typical all-you-can-eat customer downed: 3.35 hot dogs; one 20-ounce soda; one 7.9-ounce bag of peanuts; one 3-ounce order of nachos and 32 ounces of popcorn. Those numbers are "insane," the ADA's Gerbstadt says. They equate to more than three times the daily recommended calories and carbohydrates, four times the saturated fat and sodium, and seven times the fat suggested by the Agriculture Department's 2005 diet guidelines."

[Pere]

Here's the tale of AYCE madness in LA, which was quoted in the USA Today piece linked above.

We took two orders each and headed to the condiments table, where vats of recently uncanned jalapeno peppers and flavorless salsa awaited us. The table served as a gathering place for awe-struck men of all ethnic backgrounds. "I might as well not wake up tomorrow. It's not going to get any better than this," a guy next to me said.

... out of nowhere, guys began running through the aisles and flinging bite-sized Baby Ruth bars into the crowd. The crowd went berserk, clawing their arms in the air like starving zombie prisoners of war at a brain buffet.